Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a platform and method of using this platform of a computer system for managing the load control and load distribution within the system.
The document European Patent EP-A-0 346 039 discloses a computer system that administers parameters for a load distribution and load control of a computer system.
A switching node is a computer system that processes jobs in a context of delay times that are demanded by the customer and by international standards. For broadband switching nodes, these jobs lie in very different areas, with different delay time demands, and deal with traffic volume of a very different type that fluctuates over time. In addition to coming from switching technology for data and voice traffic, these jobs come from task areas like protocol processing (for example, Common Channel Signaling System No. 7 (CCS-7) signalling, broadband User Network Interface (broadband subscriber signaling) (UNI)-interface, broadband Network Network Interface “variable-bandwidth trunk” signaling (NNI)-signalling, Global Title Translation, Private Network Network Interface (PNNI) protocol, Public Access Interface, Private Branch Exchange Access, etc.), management of the signalling networks (particularly for network outages), operation of the operator interface, billing, traffic statistics, administration of subscriber lines, line circuits, routing data and tariff zones, as well as from error handling, which assures that the “down time” (time during which the entire switching node or sub-components are not available) is minimized.
Since this computer deals with network connections, both normal and other operating conditions (e.g., initialization in which a network-wide communication is triggered) that must proceed in an optimally timely manner. The delay demands thus vary with the operating conditions, requiring an adequate reaction.
The real-time behavior needed from the switching node makes specific demands of the node architecture and of the operating system. To provide such real-time behavior, the processor run time capacities must be distributed as well as possible onto the various application programs at all times.
In the new Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) switching node, time budget values are made available to the operating system in order to guarantee this, so that the OS can guarantee a minimum access time to the processor for the various applications.
Since telecommunication networks are subject to constant change with respect to performance features, architecture and size, the switching nodes in telecommunication networks must be flexible in terms of the functionalities that they offer and must be scalable in size.
In particular, a switching computer must be able to grow, with minimal/no interruptions in operation: this includes a HW upgrade for increasing the processor performance that already exists, a SW upgrade for upgrading performance features, and (in conjunction with these upgrades under certain circumstances) a redistribution of the time budget at the processor, including other parameters (e.g., load thresholds for the load control, scan intervals, and protocol budgets), these parameters should be capable of being changed interruption-free.
Up to now, these parameters were distributed among the various users, i.e., the parameters were declared in the application programs. The interface administration with respect to the parameters likewise took place by the users.
The totality of the load control parameters and load distribution parameters (“load control parameters”) are approximately four-digits in length and are fundamentally important for the load distribution (time division onto the various applications according to the throughput and delay time demands, with many but not all of these being used for scheduling) and load control. The previous distributed deposit of these load control parameters at the various users and their administration by them (via a corresponding plurality of user interfaces) would lead to a considerable, if not insoluble, engineering problem. This problem would be in implementing a situation-suited adaptation (in the configuration and the run time) of the currently valid parameter values for the purpose of optimum load distribution and load control.